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Barry McCarthy

“It is the act of painting that allows me to live in harmony with myself, my work and my world,” says renowned Canadian artist Barry McCarthy. Born in Deep River, Ontario in 1951, McCarthy grew up experiencing the vast shores of Lake Superior and the dense woods of the far north. McCarthy’s deep connection with the landscape of his youth continues to inform his work. In his words, “to paint a subject, you must know it, understand it and live it before you can say something about it.”

After studying fine art at the University of Guelph, McCarthy’s appreciation of Dutch landscape painting of the 17th century stimulated his passion for the watercolours. He developed an outstanding watercolour technique to convey soft impressionist light. In scale alone, often on paper five feet by three feet, and in absolute command of the transparency of this medium, the artist achieved memorable results and challenged the very concept of this traditional art form.

Based in southwestern Ontario, McCarthy first painted and exhibited the farm country surrounding Fergus, with its Grand River and majestic waterfalls. Gradually, searching for expanded views and coastlines, a family visit to Atlantic Canada led to summer images of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. The artist always saw himself as an ambassador of the Maritimes. “I must be there to feel the wind and air, so that I can bring these thoughts and visions back to the studio,” says McCarthy. His plethora of visual discoveries soon became oil paintings. The new medium allowed him to adopt and refine the light and transparency that made his watercolours so memorable. The small watercolour studies provide him with confidence and comfort in a medium for which he is renowned. McCarthy chooses his best efforts in watercolour and commits them to a large format in oil. Enlightened by his constant travels throughout Canada and abroad, McCarthy always seeks new imagery and ideas for his compositions. He looks for subjects or situations imbued not merely with beauty but with a sense of angst and tension.

McCarthy’s recent is an evocative series of watercolour studies and oil paintings of the gently rolling landscape of southern Ontario around the artist’s home in Elora, and wondrously detailed studies of Nova Scotia with its windswept coastlines and haunting lone houses in east coast landscapes. The Atlantic, with all its austere foreboding appears in much of McCarthy’s work. The vast body of water holds his eye in constant fascination and respect with its rugged topography and tonality changes. Houses like the ones in the paintings “In the Bay”, “Houses on Stilts”, and “Atlantic Retreat” are perched on cliffs and precipices clinging to life. McCarthy finds solace and retreat in these places of solitude. He leaves the viewer with a resonant and haunting afterimage.

McCarthy’s work transforms the common object, ordinary person, or familiar landscape. The colour, light, and texture in each composition engage the viewer. We recognize the subject but, more than viewing it, we experience the moment in time that impels the viewer’s mind to thoughts of human history. The counties of Wellington and Waterloo are atmospheric; early morning vistas with the cool mist rising, softening grass, trees, and water in scenes like “Misty Morning”, “Tired Road”, and “Spring Field and Lilacs”. In the work “At Dusk” and the watercolour “Study for Waiting for Halloween”, McCarthy shows us a different time of day and that smoky gray skies and dusk make for great paintings. He captures this low light with amazing clarity and precision. Whatever the subject matter he chooses to paint, McCarthy reveals its spirit, its inner self, and its mysticism.

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  • Artist Origin

    Canadian

  • Artist Type

    Established living contemporary

  • Born

    1951

Available Artwork

  • Barry McCarthy

  • Bending Light

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 30.00 x 40.00 in
  • 2022
  • CAD $9000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • West Light Sunset

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 30.00 x 40.00 in
  • 2022
  • CAD $9000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Landmark, Study

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 14.50 x 10.50 in
  • 2022
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Pointe au Baril, Study

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2022
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Landmark

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 60.00 x 40.00 in
  • 2022
  • CAD $12000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Pointe au Baril

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 40.00 x 60.00 in
  • 2022
  • CAD $12000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Rock Face, Salem

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 8.00 x 10.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1400.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Ice Pick, Elora Gorge

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Around the Bend, Fall

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 15.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Down the Irvine

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 36.00 x 48.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $10000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Irvine and Grand Junction

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 36.00 x 48.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $10000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • The Mill, As the Crow Flies

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Lover's Leap, Elora Gorge

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 48.00 x 36.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $10000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Irvine and Grand Junction, Study

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 7.00 x 10.50 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1400.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Study for Rock of Ages

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Against the Wall

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 32.00 x 22.00 in
  • 2021
  • Price available on request
  • Barry McCarthy

  • View of the Mill

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 7.00 x 10.50 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1400.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Upstream to Kauffman Flats

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • River Bed Exposed

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 6.50 x 10.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1400.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • October Stand

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 7.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1400.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • October Follies, Elora Gorge

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 6.50 x 10.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1400.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Lover's Leap

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 14.00 x 10.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Limestone Wall

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Down the Irvine, Study

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Blueberries for Sale

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 11.00 x 16.50 in
  • 2021
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Wild Irises, Nfld

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 14.00 x 20.00 in
  • 2019
  • CAD $2200.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Fish for Sale

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 60.00 x 40.00 in
  • 2020
  • CAD $12000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Lobster Cove

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 36.00 x 48.00 in
  • 2020
  • CAD $10000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Lobster Cove, Nfld Study

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2019
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Down the Road

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2019
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Green Gardens, Nfld

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2019
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Arriving at Cheticamp after the rain, Cape Breton, study

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.50 in
  • 2019
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Dusk at Craigmore, Cape Breton

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 32.00 x 48.00 in
  • 2019
  • CAD $10000.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Riding Into Cheticamp After the Rain, study

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 18.00 x 41.00 in
  • 2018
  • Price available on request
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Shoreline Lunch and Conversations, PEI

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2019
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Dusk at Craigmore, Cape Breton study

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.00 in
  • 2019
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Sandbanks Lookout, Prince Edward County

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 9.75 x 13.75 in
  • 2017
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Study for The Red Shed, Nova Scotia by Barry McCarthy

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.00 x 14.50 in
  • 2017
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • View Down the Valley of the Rockies

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 8.00 x 10.25 in
  • 2017
  • CAD $1400.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Study for View from Above, Digby, Nova Scotia

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 10.25 x 14.25 in
  • 2017
  • CAD $1800.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Bell Buoy

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 22.00 x 30.00 in
  • 2016
  • CAD $5500.00
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Museum Monument

  • Watercolour on Paper
  • 7.00 x 8.75 in
  • 2005
  • CAD $700.00

Exceptional Sales

  • Barry McCarthy

  • Pot à l'Eau-de-Vie Lighthouse, Quebec

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 30.00 x 42.00 in
  • 2013
  • Sold
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Serpentine Fence

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 40.00 x 48.00 in
  • 2013
  • Sold
  • Barry McCarthy

  • East Coast Community, Trinity Bay, NFLD

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 40.00 x 60.00 in
  • 2012
  • Sold
  • Barry McCarthy

  • New Bedford Mermaid

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 43.00 x 31.00 in
  • 2016
  • Sold
  • Barry McCarthy

  • Killarney

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 60.00 x 40.00 in
  • 2020
  • Sold

Exhibitions

Summer Selection

July 2 - July 23, Toronto

Summer Selection

July 2 - July 23, Toronto

Winter Contemporary Group Exhibition

February 19 - February 26, Toronto

Winter Contemporary Group Exhibition

February 19 - February 26, Toronto

Best of the Contemporaries | ADAC Toronto Gallery Week

October 27 - October 30, Toronto

Best of the Contemporaries | ADAC Toronto Gallery Week

October 27 - October 30, Toronto

Barry McCarthy: The Elora Gorge

November 6 - November 13, Toronto

Barry McCarthy: The Elora Gorge

November 6 - November 13, Toronto

Best of the Contemporaries

July 2 - August 28, Toronto, Calgary

Best of the Contemporaries

July 2 - August 28, Toronto, Calgary

View all exhibitions

Suggested Artwork

View all artworks
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Historical
  • Contemporary
Contact

Toronto

416 964 9050

16 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2E2
Tuesday to Saturday from 10am - 5pm, or by appointment

Winnipeg

204 791 2239

306 St. Mary's Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2H 1J8
Open by appointment only until further notice

Calgary

403 209 8542

314 12 Ave S.W., Calgary, Alberta, T2R 0H2
Tuesday to Saturday from 10am - 5:30pm, or by appointment